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Debt-limit suspension advances as Republicans go bust on concessions

The Washington Post

Posted:
02/12/2014 12:01:00 AM MST

Updated:
02/12/2014 06:40:35 AM MST

WASHINGTON — The House approved a year-long suspension of the nation's debt limit Tuesday in a vote that left Republicans once again ceding control to Democrats after a collapse in support for an earlier proposal advanced by Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.

In a 221-201 vote, just 28 Republicans joined nearly all Democrats to approve a "clean" extension of the government's borrowing authority — one without strings attached — sending the measure to the Senate for a final vote, probably this week.

Colorado's delegation voted on party lines, four Republicans against and three Democrats for.

The legislation, which Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., vowed to pass and President Barack Obama said he would sign, would eliminate any chance of default on the debt — and possible financial havoc that would ensue — until March 2015.

The Republican surrender may end a three-year war by the House GOP against what had been an obscure procedural maneuver to ensure that the nation's past bills were paid on time. In early 2011, after claiming the majority, Republicans seized on the debt ceiling as leverage from which they could gain major concessions from Obama, such as approval of the Keystone XL pipeline or changes to the new health-care law.

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Twice they were able to do so, but a partial government shutdown in October undercut their position. At the time, Republicans also approved a temporary suspension of the debt ceiling, with vows to extract something from Obama this month.

Attempts to do so on other issues, including a compromise budget deal, fell short.

"The full faith and credit (of the United States) should be unquestioned, and it is not negotiable," said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

It marked the latest rebuke to Boehner from the conservative faction of his GOP caucus, which opposed several proposals his leadership team presented. His last offer, to link the debt increase to a popular proposal to restore cuts to some military pensions, crumbled Monday in a caucus meeting.

The speaker conceded defeat, joking about how no one clapped after he saved them from having to support a debt-limit increase, according to people at the meeting.

Afterward, Boehner broke into a tune from "Song of the South" to try to remain upbeat.

"Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay," he sang.

Despite the setback, Boehner's leadership team was able to move past what could have been another fiscal showdown with minimal political damage, a stark contrast to the 16-day shutdown.

Republicans said they will now spend the next eight months focusing on the health-care rollout and the struggling economy ahead of this year's midterm elections. Leaders even allowed the bill to pass ahead of schedule, so that lawmakers could leave early for a two-week recess before potential snowfall.

Boehner appeared more comfortable than at any time in his three-year reign, taking shots at outside conservative groups that had opposed his previous deals with Democrats.

House Republicans are more content with his stewardship than they were a year ago, when he survived a coup attempt. But they remain unwilling to vote for some compromises, preferring the ideological purity of opposing something they know will pass with Democratic support.

"It wasn't exactly a profile in courage," said Rep. Devin Nunes of California, one of the 28 Republicans who voted yes. "You had members saying they hoped it passed but unwilling to vote for it."

Dave Camp, R-Mich., chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, said: "I am disappointed that Democrats have walked away from the table. But for as disappointed as I am, I cannot in good conscience let the Democrats' refusal to engage lead to a default."

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